Thursday's Closing Grain and Livestock Futures
Dec. corn closed at $3.90, up 7 and 1/2 cents
Jan. soybeans closed at $10.42 and 1/4, up 10 and 1/4 cents
Dec. soybean meal closed at $406.10, up 90 cents
Dec. soybean oil closed at 31.93, up 26 points
Dec. wheat closed at $6.10 and 1/4, up 17 cents
Dec. live cattle closed at $162.40, down 7 cents
Dec. lean hogs closed at $87.55, up 27 cents
Jan. crude oil closed at $59.95, down 99 cents
Mar. cotton closed at 60.48, up 91 points
Dec. Class III milk closed at $17.75, down 12 cents
Dec. gold closed at $1,225.10, down $3.80
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,596.34, up 63.19 points
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Ag Market News Update
Soybeans were higher on fund and technical buying. It was another bullish week for export numbers, with strong sales and shipments. Also, the session could almost be construed as a delayed reaction to Wednesday’s USDA numbers. Past that – the trade’s watching weather in South America, with good conditions in the forecast for the next week or so. Soybean meal and oil followed beans higher.
Corn was higher on fund and technical buying. The weekly export numbers look just about neutral with a good week for sales and a slow week for shipments. Corn’s also watching weather in South America and waiting for January’s USDA numbers. Similar to soybeans, part of Thursday’s session could be viewed as a delayed reaction to Wednesday’s nominally supportive supply and demand report. Ethanol futures were higher.
The wheat complex was higher on fund and technical buying. There’s more concern about winterkill in Russia and forecasts for the U.S. Plains over the next week do show less rainfall than originally expected. Weekly export numbers were bearish, reflecting the routine demand and bearish world fundamentals. Japan did buy 91,200 tons of U.S. milling wheat, along with 26,400 tons from Canada and 25,900 tons from Australia. However, Egypt once again bypassed U.S. wheat, buying 180,000 tons from France and Russia.
Feedlot country remained at a standstill on Thursday afternoon with bids and asking prices poorly defined. Private sources reported a few bids in the South at 164.00. Look for a light to moderate trade to develop sometime on Friday. Asking prices are around 168.00 to 170.00 in the South and 268.00 plus in the North. The cattle kill was estimated at 110,000 head, the same as last week, but down 4,000 from last year.
Boxed beef cutout values were sharply lower on choice and weak on select on light demand and light to moderate offerings. Choice beef was down 2.16 at 247.49 and select was .43 lower at 235.94.
Live cattle contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled 7 to 120 points lower on the limit losses in the feeder cattle futures. Boxed beef values provided little if any encouragement as the market was mixed at midday with the choice lower and select higher. Uncertainty over this week’s cash cattle market was also a factor in Thursday’s futures trade. December settled .07 lower at 162.40 and February was .27 lower at 162.57.
Feeder cattle settled with $3.00 losses across the board. January settled at 228.60 and March at 224.25, both down the 3.00 limit. Feeder futures broke chart support and triggered more long liquidation.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Springfield, Missouri Livestock Marketing center totaled 2682 head on Wednesday. Compared to last week’s sharply higher trade, steers and heifers trended 5.00 to 15.00 lower. Demand was moderate on a heavy supply. Feeder cattle have been at record highs this fall but a lower fed cattle trade and several days of lower futures has buyers re-evaluating their programs. Feeder steer calves medium and large 1 averaging 619 pounds averaged 235.53 per hundredweight. The same weight heifer calves brought 218.59.
Lean hogs ended mostly lower with only the December contract in the black. Traders focused on the lack of direction in the cash market as well as aggressive losses in the pork values in the morning report. This may continue to pressure long term price levels as growing supplies of hogs available to the market through the middle of 2015 are keeping traders cautious at best. December settled .27 higher at 87.55, and February was down .20 at 84.35.
There was slow hog market activity with light demand again on Thursday. Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 1.55 lower with a weighted average of 83.02 on a carcass basis. The West was down 1.42 at 82.92, and the East was 2.25 lower at 80.53. The Missouri direct base carcass meat price was steady from 76.00 to 78.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis closed steady to an instance of a dollar lower from 57.00 to 66.00.
The pork carcass cutout value FOB plant closed 1.36 lower at 90.93. Only the bellies were higher, by $3.02.
Benchmark oil prices fell to new five-year lows on Wednesday after OPEC cut its demand outlook for global oil consumption and U.S. data showed a surprise jump in oil inventories. Still greater energy savings for consumers bodes well for better meat spending through the winter and spring ahead.
The Thursday hog slaughter was estimated by USDA at 428,000 head, 1,000 more than last week, but 9,000 less than last year.
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